Page:Heroes of the dawn.djvu/160

 "Soon, O Fionn, I must return to Ulster, and before I go I would ask you to give me Tuirenn in marriage, for I love her, and desire above all things to take her back with me to my home."

Fionn, as head of his clan, had power to bestow or withhold his consent in such matters, so he said to Illan:

"Do you know that Tuirenn belongs to the folk of the Sidhe, and I can only give her to you on certain conditions namely, that she shall be restored safely to me whenever I may send for her, and that you shall go surety for her safety?"

"Do you think she will not be safe with me?" inquired Illan indignantly. "Yet, because she is dearer to me than everything I possess, I will willingly agree to your conditions." Then, with an anxious note in his voice, he asked: "Have you any reason to think that through me, or any of my kinsfolk, harm will come to Tuirenn?"

"I have heard that Uchtdealb, who is also a woman of the Sidhe, has given you her love," Fionn answered, "and perhaps through